Amanda Knox acquitted

BY ANDREA VOGT, SPECIAL TO SEATTLEPI.COM

Updated 4:38 pm, Monday, October 3, 2011

Amanda Knox, left, leaves the Perugia court on a car following the verdict that overturns her conviction and acquits her of murdering her British roomate Meredith Kercher, Monday.

Photo: Angelo Carconi, AP

Amanda Knox, left, leaves the Perugia court on a car following the...

Amanda Knox breaks in tears after hearing the verdict that overturns her conviction and acquits her of murdering her British roommate Meredith Kercher, at the Perugia court, central Italy, Monday, Oct. 3, 2011. Italian appeals court threw out Amanda Knox's murder conviction Monday and ordered the young American freed after nearly four years in prison for the death of her British roommate Knox collapsed in tears after the verdict overturning her 2009 conviction was read out. Her co-defendant, Italian Raffaele Sollecito, also was cleared of killing 21-year-old Meredith Kercher in 2007. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

Amanda Knox breaks in tears after hearing the verdict that...

Amanda Knox breaks in tears as she is taken away after hearing the verdict that overturns her conviction and acquits her of murdering her British roommate Meredith Kercher, at the Perugia court, central Italy, Monday. Italian appeals court threw out Amanda Knox's murder conviction Monday and ordered the young American freed after nearly four years in prison for the death of her British roommate. Knox collapsed in tears after the verdict overturning her 2009 conviction was read out. Her co-defendant, Italian Raffaele Sollecito, also was cleared of killing 21-year-old Meredith Kercher in 2007.(AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

Photo: Pier Paolo Cito, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Amanda Knox breaks in tears as she is taken away after hearing the...

Raffaele Sollecito smiles after hearing the verdict that overturns her conviction and acquits him of murdering Meredith Kercher, at the Perugia court, Italy, Monday. (AP Photo/Oli Scarff, Pool)

PERUGIA, ITALY - OCTOBER 03: Amanda Knox's sister Deanna Knox (C) cries in Perugia's Court of Appeal after hearing that Amanda won her appeal against her murder conviction on October 3, 2011 in Perugia, Italy. American student Amanda Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito have won their appeal against their conviction in 2009 of killing their British roommate Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy in 2007. The pair had served nearly four years in jail after initially being sentenced to 26 and 25 years respectively.
Photo: Oli Scarff, Getty Images

PERUGIA, ITALY - OCTOBER 03: Amanda Knox's sister Deanna Knox (C)...

Raffaele Sollecito is taken away after the verdict that overturns his conviction and acquits him and co-defendant Amanda Knox of murdering Amanda's British roommate Meredith Kercher, at the Perugia court, central Italy, Monday, Oct. 3, 2011. Knox, an American student, was convicted of sexually assaulting and murdering Meredith Kercher, her British roommate in Perugia, and sentenced to 26 years in prison. Knox's boyfriend at the time of the 2007 murder, Raffaele Sollecito of Italy, was convicted of the same charges and sentenced to 25 years. Both deny wrongdoing and have appealed the December 2009 verdict.

Photo: Pier Paolo Cito, AP

Raffaele Sollecito is taken away after the verdict that overturns...

Amanda Knox's mother Edda Mellas, center, cries after hearing the verdict that overturns Amanda Knox's conviction and acquits her of murdering her British roomate Meredith Kercher, at the Perugia court, Italy, Monday Oct. 3, 2011. An Italian appeals court has thrown out Amanda Knox's murder conviction and ordered the young American freed after nearly four years in prison for the death of her British roommate. Knox collapsed in tears after the verdict was read out Monday. Her co-defendant, Raffaele Sollecito, also was cleared of killing 21-year-old Meredith Kercher in 2007. (AP Photo/Oli Scarff, Pool)

Photo: Oli Scarff, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Amanda Knox's mother Edda Mellas, center, cries after hearing the...

Amanda Knox, centre, reacts after hearing the verdict that overturns her conviction and acquits her of murdering her British roommate Meredith Kercher, at the Perugia court, central Italy, Monday. (AP)

Photo: Pier Paolo Cito, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Amanda Knox, centre, reacts after hearing the verdict that...

From left, Amanda Knox's aunt Janet Huff, Amanda's stepfather Chris Mellas, and Cassandra Knox, second wife of Curt Knox, the father of Amanda Knox react after the verdict that overturns Amanda's conviction and acquits her of murdering her British roommate Meredith Kercher, at the Perugia court, central Italy, Monday.

Amanda Knox mother Edda Mellas reacts after hearing the verdict that overturns her conviction and acquits her of murdering her British roomate Meredith Kercher, at the Perugia court, Italy, Monday Oct. 3, 2011. An Italian appeals court has thrown out Amanda Knox's murder conviction and ordered the young American freed after nearly four years in prison for the death of her British roommate. Knox collapsed in tears after the verdict was read out Monday. Her co-defendant, Raffaele Sollecito, also was cleared of killing 21-year-old Meredith Kercher in 2007. (AP Photo/Tiziana Fabi, Pool)

Photo: Tiziana Fabi, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Amanda Knox mother Edda Mellas reacts after hearing the verdict...

Amanda Knox, back to camera, hugs her lawyer Luciano Ghirga following the verdict that overturns her conviction and acquits her of murdering her British roomate Meredith Kercher, at the Perugia court, Italy, Monday Oct. 3, 2011. An Italian appeals court has thrown out Amanda Knox's murder conviction and ordered the young American freed after nearly four years in prison for the death of her British roommate. Knox collapsed in tears after the verdict was read out Monday. Her co-defendant, Raffaele Sollecito, also was cleared of killing 21-year-old Meredith Kercher in 2007. (AP Photo/Lapresse) ITALY OUT
Photo: Lapresse, AP

Amanda Knox, back to camera, hugs her lawyer Luciano Ghirga...

Amanda Knox bursts into tears as she walks away after hearing the verdict that overturns her conviction and acquits her of murdering her British roomate Meredith Kercher, at the Perugia court, Italy, Monday Oct. 3, 2011. An Italian appeals court has thrown out Amanda Knox's murder conviction and ordered the young American freed after nearly four years in prison for the death of her British roommate. Knox collapsed in tears after the verdict was read out Monday. Her co-defendant, Raffaele Sollecito, also was cleared of killing 21-year-old Meredith Kercher in 2007.

Photo: Pietro Crocchioni, AP

Amanda Knox bursts into tears as she walks away after hearing the...

Amanda Knox mother Edda Mellas, left, reacts after hearing the verdict that overturns Amanda Knox conviction and acquits her of murdering her British roomate Meredith Kercher, at the Perugia court, Italy, Monday Oct. 3, 2011. An Italian appeals court has thrown out Amanda Knox's murder conviction and ordered the young American freed after nearly four years in prison for the death of her British roommate. Knox collapsed in tears after the verdict was read out Monday. Her co-defendant, Raffaele Sollecito, also was cleared of killing 21-year-old Meredith Kercher in 2007.

Photo: Tiziana Fabi, AP

Amanda Knox mother Edda Mellas, left, reacts after hearing the...

Amanda Knox, center, cries after hearing the verdict that overturns her conviction and acquits her of murdering her British roomate Meredith Kercher, at the Perugia court, Italy, Monday Oct. 3, 2011. An Italian appeals court has thrown out Amanda Knox's murder conviction and ordered the young American freed after nearly four years in prison for the death of her British roommate. Knox collapsed in tears after the verdict was read out Monday. Her co-defendant, Raffaele Sollecito, also was cleared of killing 21-year-old Meredith Kercher in 2007. (AP Photo/Alessandro Bianchi, Pool)

Photo: Alessandro Bianchi, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Amanda Knox, center, cries after hearing the verdict that overturns...

PERUGIA, ITALY - OCTOBER 03: Amanda Knox's sister Deanna Knox arrives at Perugia's Court of Appeal on the day of the verdict in Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito's appeal of their murder convictions on October 3, 2011 in Perugia, Italy. American student Amanda Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were convicted in 2009 of killing their British roommate Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy in 2007. The jury in their appeal is expected to retire to consider their verdict later today. They have served nearly four years in jail after being sentenced to 26 and 25 years respectively.

Photo: Franco Origlia, Getty Images

PERUGIA, ITALY - OCTOBER 03: Amanda Knox's sister Deanna Knox...

PERUGIA, ITALY - OCTOBER 03: Amanda Knox is escorted to her appeal hearing at Perugia's Court of Appeal on October 3, 2011 in Perugia, Italy. American student Amanda Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were convicted in 2009 of killing their British roommate Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy in 2007. The jury in their appeal is expected to retire to consider their verdict later today. They have served nearly four years in jail after being sentenced to 26 and 25 years respectively.

Photo: Oli Scarff, Getty Images

PERUGIA, ITALY - OCTOBER 03: Amanda Knox is escorted to her appeal...

PERUGIA, ITALY - OCTOBER 03: Amanda Knox arrives at Perugia's Court of Appeal the day of the verdict in her and Raffaele Sollecito's appeal of their murder convictions on October 3, 2011 in Perugia, Italy. American student Amanda Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were convicted in 2009 of killing their British roommate Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy in 2007. The jury in their appeal is expected to retire to consider their verdict later today. They have served nearly four years in jail after being sentenced to 26 and 25 years respectively.

Photo: Franco Origlia, Getty Images

PERUGIA, ITALY - OCTOBER 03: Amanda Knox arrives at Perugia's...

Amanda Knox, left, talks to her lawyer Carlo Dalla Vedova prior to an appeal hearing, at the Perugia court, central Italy, Monday, Oct. 3, 2011. The 24-year-old Knox looked tense as she entered a packed courthouse. She is expected to address the court in a final plea of her innocence. A verdict is expected later Monday.

Photo: Pier Paolo Cito, AP

Amanda Knox, left, talks to her lawyer Carlo Dalla Vedova prior to...

Amanda Knox, center, is escorted as she arrives for an appeal hearing at the Perugia court, central Italy, Monday, Oct. 3, 2011. The 24-year-old Knox looked tense as she entered a packed courthouse. She is expected to address the court in a final plea of her innocence. A verdict is expected later Monday.

Photo: Antonio Calanni, AP

Amanda Knox, center, is escorted as she arrives for an appeal...

PERUGIA, ITALY - OCTOBER 03: Amanda Knox arrives at Perugia's Court of Appeal the day of the verdict in her and Raffaele Sollecito's appeal of their murder convictions on October 3, 2011 in Perugia, Italy. American student Amanda Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were convicted in 2009 of killing their British roommate Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy in 2007. The jury in their appeal is expected to retire to consider their verdict later today. They have served nearly four years in jail after being sentenced to 26 and 25 years respectively.

Photo: Franco Origlia, Getty Images

PERUGIA, ITALY - OCTOBER 03: Amanda Knox arrives at Perugia's...

Amanda Knox is escorted as she arrives for an appeal hearing at the Perugia court, central Italy, Monday, Oct. 3, 2011. The 24-year-old Knox looked tense as she entered a packed courthouse. She is expected to address the court in a final plea of her innocence. A verdict is expected later Monday.

Photo: Pier Paolo Cito, AP

Amanda Knox is escorted as she arrives for an appeal hearing at the...

Stephanie Kercher, left, and Lyle Kercher, sister and brother of slain British student Meredith, speak to reporters in Perugia, Italy, Monday, Oct. 3, 2011. Stephanie Kercher has urged the court to weigh the evidence against Amanda Knox and not pay attention to the "media hype" surrounding the high-profile case. Stephanie Kercher spoke to reporters as the eight-member jury on Monday deliberated the fate of Knox and co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito, who are appealing their 2009 murder convictions. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Stephanie Kercher, left, and Lyle Kercher, sister and brother of...

PERUGIA, ITALY - OCTOBER 03: Amanda Knox's mother Edda Mellas arrives at Perugia's Court of Appeal the day of the verdict in Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito's appeal of their murder convictions on October 3, 2011 in Perugia, Italy. American student Amanda Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were convicted in 2009 of killing their British roommate Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Italy in 2007. The jury in their appeal is expected to retire to consider their verdict later today. They have served nearly four years in jail after being sentenced to 26 and 25 years respectively.

After nearly four years behind bars, an Italian jury has overturned Knox's conviction for the murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher, setting the stage for her emotional homecoming to Knox's native Seattle.

She left the prison that has been her home for almost four years about 2 p.m. Seattle time, CNN reports. She is expected to fly to Seattle on Tuesday.

Knox's former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito was also acquitted.

The courtroom erupted with cries of joy as the presiding judge read the verdict after a long day of deliberations, wrapping up an appeals trial that lasted nearly a year.

When the verdict was read Knox was at first tense, then doubled over and started weeping. She hugged her attorney, then was surrounded by police officers who escorted her out of court.

One of Knox's lawyers, Carlo Dallas Vedova said outside court that "we are satisfied" with the jury's ruling."Amanda is released."

CNN quoted him as saying: "She wants to go back home. She has always confirmed that she was a friend of Meredith."

He said that she will be leaving Italy "as soon as possible."

But some of the crowd outside the court was unhappy, shouting "Shame, shame. They condemned the black man."

Rudy Guede, an African immigrant, has also been convicted in Kercher's death.

Prosecutors can appeal to Italy's highest court. But they hadn't said whether they will do so.

The news that Amanda would go free set off a frenzy among the more than 400 accredited journalists, who set off immediately for Capanne prison, to chronicle her release.

The long-awaited and controversial decision is an embarrassing judicial slapdown of the work of the forensic investigators in Italy, a country struggling to bring about necessary reforms in its justice system.

And it is almost certain that the acquittal will trigger a series of side investigations to remedy the failures of the system that locked up Knox unjustly on shaky evidence.

While Knox's legal team presented much more cohesive defense strategy, the key turning point in her bizarre appeal was having the court-appointed independent expert review of two pieces of evidence go her way.

The experts delivered a scathing 145-page report criticizing Italian forensic police for dozens of errors in crime scene investigation and evidence handling. The experts cast serious doubt on the admissibility of DNA results found on the butcher knife believed to be the murder weapon (police said it had Knox's DNA on the handle and Kercher's DNA on the blade), and a bra clasp of Kercher's. The bra clasp supposedly contained the DNA of Sollecito.

No detail of Knox's defense was overlooked. Even her image was successfully rebuilt -- gone were the Beatles hoodies and T-shirts, traded in for sober and conservative court-appropriate attire. Her defense team's closing arguments were delivered smoothly, convincingly and with heartfelt warmth that the jury could feel.

But in the end, it was the persistent, meticulous effort to raise questions about every single piece of evidence that provided the jury with exactly what Amanda Knox needed: Reasonable Doubt.

In a surprising decision, the verdict was broadcast live with all cameras trained on Amanda Knox, Raffaele Sollecito, their families and of course the presiding judge, a side judge and six jurors, five of them women. One reporter from each news organization was allowed in the courtroom or press room in order to accommodate all. A number of the networks and larger news agency came with multiple-person teams and had to choose just one representative to hear the news first.

The scene outside the courthouse Monday evening was unlike anything Perugia had ever seen, a surreal atmosphere that eclipsing even the wild mass of people who had gathered for the first verdict in December 2009, which came after a sensational nine-month trial, two years after the original murder, in November 2007, just months after both Knox and Kercher first arrived for study abroad programs in this bucolic hilltop city of Umbria.

Kercher's body, with multiple stab wounds and more than 40 lesions all together, was found in a pool of blood on the floor of her own bedroom in Via Della Pergola 7, the morning of Nov. 2, 2007. A duvet had been pulled up over her bloodied, partially naked body. Four days later, Knox and Sollecito were arrested after long night of questioning that ended when Knox broke down and implicated a Congolese pub owner, Patrick Lumumba, in the crime. She had no lawyer present, and her defense attorneys have maintained she was coerced. In December 2009, Knox and Sollecito were convicted of murder and other related charges and sentenced to 26 and 25 years, respectively.

On Monday, the appeals court that acquitted Knox of murder did convict her of slandering Lumumba. She must also pay him damages.

The first trial and Knox's appeal has fascinated audiences worldwide. Knox, a Seattle native, now 24, and Raffaele Sollecito, the Italian computer engineering student from Bari who she was dating at the time, were convicted in December 2009 of murdering Knox's British roommate Meredith Kercher in a drug-fueled sexual assault.

Kercher's mother, Arline, sister, Stephanie, and brother, Lyle, were in the courtroom for the verdict and said they will hold a hold conference Tuesday and give their reaction to the verdict. Earlier in the day, they recalled fondly their daughter and sister, wiping away tears as they described what a loving person she was and how fond as of Perugia, where she had come on an exchange from the University of Leeds.

Knox's friends and family have been faithfully pressing the case for the release of their daughter, who has spent four difficult years both under the spotlight and behind bars.

"We won't rest until we can bring her home," Curt Knox told the BBC early Monday.

The case has had an intense international media following, and inspired a number of books and even movies. In the U.S., the Italian judicial system has come under harsh criticism, while many in Europe have defended the process that convicted Knox.

Knox's position improved significantly during her appeal, especially after an independent review of the evidence harshly criticized two key pieces of DNA evidence the prosecution has presented.

The review raised doubt about the admissibility of Sollecito's DNA on Kercher's bra clasp, as well as the trace amount of Kercher's DNA allegedly found on the kitchen knife the prosecution claimed was the murder weapon. The prosecution stood by the work of the forensic police, however, accusing the experts of "scientific falsification" saying no contamination had been proven and noting that not all experts agree on the amount of DNA that is acceptable. In the last hearings before the appeals jury, prosecutors took pains to point out a number of other items of circumstantial evidence that they felt proved her involvement.

The defense argued she was a suspect from the get-go and then became the victim of a series of investigative errors. "This investigation was a sailboat going off in one direction, unable to change its route," Carlo Dalla Vedova told the court.

On Monday, Knox herself gave a heartfelt but determined plea to win her freedom in a statement before deliberations began.

When a nervous Knox stood to address the court, she seemed close to losing her composure. A dropped pin could have been heard in the courtroom.

Her lawyer reached over and squeezed her hand. The judge said she could sit if she preferred, but she took a deep breath and began her remarks. She gained confidence as she addressed jurors for about 10 minutes, telling them of her ordeal, describing how her faith in the authorities had been betrayed, and pleading that they right a judicial wrong.

She has suffered during four years of unjust incarceration, Knox said, insisting she spent the night of Nov. 1, 2007 with her Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito when her British flatmate, Meredith Kercher, was killed, an event she said shocked and scared her.

"She had her bedroom next to mine. She was killed in our house. If I had been there that night, I would be dead, like her," Knox said, her voice quivering at moments. "But I was not there. I was with Raffaele. Thank God he was there. I didn't have anyone. He was everything to me in that moment."

She may have been a little disorderly and carefree, but had a good relationship with her roommates, including Meredith, she said, who often worried about her when she went to work at night. Knox said she had been misunderstood over the course of the last four years and insisted she had nothing to do with Kercher's murder.

"I did not kill. I did not rape. I did not steal. I was not there. I was not present at this crime."

She then said she had no intention of trying to escape from the truth, as prosecutors had implied in the newspapers over the weekend.

"I will not flee the truth. I insist on the truth," she said. "Our innocence is real and deserves to be recognized."

Though less convincing, Raffaele Sollecito also addressed the court, saying how much he had suffered spending 20 hours a day in a 2-by-3 meter cell for more than 1,400 days. At the end of his remarks he took off the "Free Amanda and Raffaele" bracelet he always wears, saying it was a "gift" to the court. He talked of all that it symbolized for him, calling it "a concentrate of various emotions, a desire for justice and the light in this dark tunnel." He urged the jury to acquit, saying he and Amanda deserve a new, hopeful future.

As the morning's court statements came to an end, presiding Judge Claudio Pratillo Hellman warned the court that "this is not a soccer match" and urged all parties to respect the court's decision and remain silent when the verdict is read.